Perspectives on what is happening in Israel from a family living in a very newsworthy part of the world.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

How About Some Good News

I couldn't take the bad news anymore, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving I decided to look for some positive things to blog about. I came across this heartwarming article about the arrival of some of the Bnei Menashe here in Israel.

For those of you who don't know, this is a group of people who trace their ancestors back to the lost tribe of Menashe, who were exiled 27 centuries ago by the Assyrians. (Try to wrap your brain around that - 2700 years!) They have kept the laws of Shabbat, family purity, and circumcision, although they do need to convert to be considered Jews. They have had a very long road home, and we welcome them with open arms.

Would you believe that baseball is coming to Israel, and that an Israeli company has developed an organic tea that helps diabetics? This and other good news can be found on the Israel21C blog.

Although this is a family blog, I just couldn't resist including this article. You wouldn't believe what this couple is proposing everyone do in order to bring peace. (Brought to you by Victoria's secret....)Are we ready to synchronize our watches?

Kasamba has a very funny post (when isn't she funny?) about what Thanksgiving means to her, and I am sure most of us can relate to what she is thankful for.

Personally I am very grateful for a link I received from someone who calls herself Colorado Blue (a fellow LGF lizard). She basically confirmed that my blog is worth something, and is fulfilling the role that I envisioned. Here is what she said on a forum: "..the average West Bank Israeli is a decent human being. I think that [they, ed] should read this blog and aquaint themselves with this lady." "Unfortunately the characterizations of West Bank Jews are that they are all monsters interested in oppression and apartheid. That's patently ridiculous. And claiming that it is so is, ahem, bigoted."

9 Comments:

Isabelle said...

Nice post. I enjoyed the article about the Bnei Menashe.It must be such an emotional time for them.As to your last point, I'm not sure that so many people believe West Bank Jews are monsters! I didn't even before I read your blog despite my mixed feelings about that part of Israel.

Whoa- a global WHAT for peace?! HA! I will be too stuffed with food to do anything like that today!Anyway- I think you are incredible, westbankmama. You certainly have always given me a fresh persepctive on what is happening in your part of Israel. I so appreciate your efforts in this.

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About Me

What's a nice family like us doing in a place like this?
We are an Orthodox Jewish family that moved to Israel in 1991. We learned Hebrew, found work, moved to a nice suburban community 30 minutes from Tel Aviv, had a few kids...
Pretty boring, right?
It would be, if half the world weren't so obssessed with where we live.
The nice suburban community we moved to is in Samaria, in the west bank. When speaking to Israelis or other Orthodox Jews, we refer to the place we live in as the Shomron, using the biblical, Hebrew term for the region. We chose to use west bank in our name because it is more familiar to those who have never heard of the term Shomron.
Welcome to all of you interested in reading about what is happening in Israel from the perspective of a family living in a very newsworthy part of the world.